September 14, 2011

Zoya Holiday 2011 Gems & Jewels Collection Swatches!

Good Morning, happy Wednesday! Today I have for you guys Zoya's Gems & Jewels Collection for Holiday/Winter 2011! I saw this at Cosmoprof at the end of July and it seriously killed me not talking about it! For Holiday this year Zoya is giving us 3 gorgeous metallic shimmers and 3 glitter top coats full of bar glitter! I really love all the options you have with this collection, there are so many ways to layer and change these up!

Click the Read More button for pictures and reviews of each shade!

Noel is an icy blue shimmery metallic polish. This reminds me of Crystal from last years Holiday collection minus the gold flakes of glitter. I think the base color is very similar! Anyway, I really love this shade! The formula was fantastic, 2 buttery coats for full opacity! It also dried really quickly on me. I did my nails with this one like 15 minutes before heading to work and was shocked when I got to work and realized I hadn't smudged a single nail!

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Twila is blue glitter and blue and holographic bar glitter in a clear base. It absolutely packed with glitter but it goes on very easily. My biggest issue with bar glitter is that it's sometimes hard to apply, my best advice with these is to get a lot on your brush then have a very light touch when you're applying it to the nail. I did that with all 3 glitters in this collection and got great coverage that way! Some of the bar glitter in Twila is holographic, it was hard to capture on camera but it was visible in person, most of the time it looked more blue/green! I used 1 coat of Twila over Noel for the photos below.

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Izzy is a bright glowy metallic pink. LOVE THIS SO MUCH! It's one of those polishes that looks like it's lit from within! I actually didn't think I would like this one but it is gorgeous on! I think I will be wearing this a lot when I'm in a pink kind of mood! Great formula again, I used 2 coats for full opacity.

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Kissy is pink and red glitter mixed with a ton of pink and holographic bar glitter. Out of all 3 glitter top coats this one screams "Hi, I'm bar glitter" the most. It has the most holographic bar glitter out of all 3 and that makes it really stand out. I'm not a huge fan of this one but it's very pretty over black which I have photos of at the end of the post. I used 1 coat of Kissy over Izzy for the photos below.

Holly is a gorgeous shimmery emerald green. Much like Izzy this seems to be lit from within...like it's glowing. I love polishes like this, and it's so appropriately named. When I think of the holidays and Holly this is the shade that comes to mind. I know I will be wearing this one a ton, not only is the color gorgeous but the formula was again fantastic. I used 2 coats for full coverage!

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Rina is green glitter mixed with green and holographic bar glitter. Of all the glitter toppers this one is my favorite! Over black it almost had a duochrome-y blue look to it, I'm not sure if that's because of the holographic bar glitter but I love it! I kind of love this combo, I feel like I spread a Christmas tree on my nails haha! I used 1 coat of Rina over Holly for the photos below!

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I'm pretty sure I saw the glitters layered over black at Cosmoprof (it was either black or another dark shade) and I fell in love. I am usually not a bar glitter kind of girl, it makes me feel like I have hair on my nails. That layering completely changed my opinion. I feel like the glitters are gorgeous over their companion shades but incredible over a dark shade like black, they have so much depth! I used one coat of each glitter, Rina, Kissy and Twlia over black for the photos below! You can see the shades of glitter a little better this way!

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Overall I really love this collection. All 3 of the metallic polishes are fantastic, they don't show brush strokes at all and are incredibly glowy looking. The formula was also top notch and very easy to work with! Out of the glitters I like Twila and Rina the best, it's almost hard to tell they are bar glitter unless you are really looking. With Kissy it's very easy to tell that it's bar glitter and since I'm not a huge fan of that I don't love it. Maybe it will grow on me the more I wear these!

The glitters do dry with a bit of texture but it was easy to get rid of with a coat of Seche Vite. You can also build the glitters up, the opacity was pretty good at one coat. I think at 3 you'd be set!

So what do you guys think? I know bar glitter is a love or hate kind of thing, I've been looking forward to the reactions since I laid eyes on these!

The Gems & Jewels Collection will be available starting September 15th on Zoya.com. Each polish retails for $8, you can also buy these in a set as per usual!

Ugh, am i the only one that don't like those? The bar glitters are seriously hideous for my eyes, would not ever wear those in real life...But i like Holly and Izzy! Great swatch pictures i might add! =D

How close is Holly to Ivanka? I think they are all pretty, but I feel like the green is the only one that seems "holiday". I've never used bar glitter and might consider getting Rina to play with over black or other colors.

I can't deal with bar glitter. There is always a piece hanging off the nail edge driving me nuts. (A bit OCD). I also am not in love with the other colors. They're cute but I'll probably pass. Which is good because I have so much Zoya!

Hoping to figure out how to afford a Zoya purchase of large size before these run out. I am saving my $ to cover my 20% and whatever else of my upcoming major surgery - but I would like to get the entire set - I love bar glitter. Thanks for the fab swatch shots!

Oh, I like the green & the pink best in both the glitters and the shimmers. I am really tired of the blast of these bright blues we have had really all over us this year. I would have liked to have seen any other shade but the blue in the Zoya holiday set.